DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

We may not all be like Hans Zimmer or Junkie XL and have the liberty to compose full-time as a career. Being employed full-time as a composer may be the dream but without patience and persistence, dreams remain a figment of our imagination and rarely come to fruition. I am fortunate enough to be paid for my some of my work but like millions of others with dreams, I have to work a day job to pay for the cost of living and follow my dreams in my spare time. So the other week I thought, If I have to do a day job, it may as well be in Audio!

I was working in a lighting warehouse counting lamps, now I count amps!

I am working for a company called JPJ Audio in Melbourne and they specialise in live sound, producing some massive gigs in the recent months including Robbie Williams, Russell Peters and Paul McCartney. It may not be composing for games, but hey, if you need to make coin, it makes sense to at least be in the same broad field that you are trained for. I have made some connections already and have the names of the crews doing orchestral recording, which is really my ulterior motive, to find out who’s who from industry professionals. I think we need to take this approach in Audio because as many of you are aware, this industry doesn’t often place ads for jobs, it is an industry which works off reputation and networks. It’s a funny thing to have to be a live sound guy to get work in production companies and studios, but let’s face it, if you need to work, work in a field that has some connection to your dream, all you need is a foot in the door and the rest will fall into place, as long as you are willing to work your butt off!

Getting recognition for your efforts as a composer is a brutal effort and many will fail. Securing work as a composer that generates enough income for you to live comfortably can seem like an impossibility and is a life-long journey, that is why we need to take steps to make sure we can become composers and live our dreams, which means going back to Uni, or working a job that seems fruitless to pay for our progression. I believe in you, whoever you are, whatever dream you are chasing, just keep doing it.